Dar urges US for early payment of Coalition Support Fund dues

[Leader]

Dar urges US for early payment of Coalition Support Fund dues


With the government’s finances in a bind, the federal finance minister Ishaq Dar urged the United States on Thursday to make early reimbursements of dues in lieu of Coalition Support Fund, Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday.

Talking to American Ambassador Richard Olson in Islamabad today‚ he said this would help Pakistan improve its present foreign exchange reserves position, which dipped dangerously low on Thursday.

The US Ambassador assured Dar that he would convey Pakistan’s position to the government of United States.

He reiterated that United States has a strong idea of the energy crisis in Pakistan and is willing to support Pakistan in overcoming the crisis.

During the meeting they also exchanged views on the 1320 MW Jamshoro Coal Power Plant.

Earlier, Dar had said he hoped the country’s economy would become 11th biggest economy of the world as the government was taking effective measures to align it.


Dar urges US for early payment of Coalition Support Fund dues – The Express Tribune

 

[acid rain]

Dar urges US for early payment of Coalition Support Fund dues


With the government’s finances in a bind, the federal finance minister Ishaq Dar urged the United States on Thursday to make early reimbursements of dues in lieu of Coalition Support Fund, Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday.

Talking to American Ambassador Richard Olson in Islamabad today‚ he said this would help Pakistan improve its present foreign exchange reserves position, which dipped dangerously low on Thursday.

The US Ambassador assured Dar that he would convey Pakistan’s position to the government of United States.

He reiterated that United States has a strong idea of the energy crisis in Pakistan and is willing to support Pakistan in overcoming the crisis.

During the meeting they also exchanged views on the 1320 MW Jamshoro Coal Power Plant.

Earlier, Dar had said he hoped the country’s economy would become 11th biggest economy of the world as the government was taking effective measures to align it.


Dar urges US for early payment of Coalition Support Fund dues – The Express Tribune

Nice!! For Pakistan's sake lets pray that the US sends some dollars across. What happened to the 1.6 billion dole that Sharif scored on his recent visit to US?.

 

[surya kiran]

Why is the heading PML N when he is representing the GoP? Politicking is happening big time on PDF

 

[Secur]

@Leader

You are a senior member , right ? Are you aware of the rule that the thread's title isn't to be altered at will to your own personal liking ? I can understand , the cockfights that have been happening lately between the supporters of both parties but lets just try and maintain some decency . As for the " aid " , all the parties have been taking that with some regularity , no one is a holy cow bathing in the Ganges .

 

[Kaniska]

Sometimes i feel Pakistan and US relationship is a classic example about how a couple stay with each other knowing well that everyone is deceiving each other regularly...

 

[Leader]

IMF asks tough questions about PM’s money whitening scheme

Just ahead of submitting Pakistan’s request for the second IMF tranche of $545 million, the Fund has sought explanations from Islamabad about the money whitening scheme announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.



At a time when the country’s foreign currency are declining at a rapid pace, the IMF’s executive board is scheduled to meet on December 19 in Washington DC for considering approval of Pakistan’s second tranche of $545m under the $6.67 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).



In order to provide the much needed boost to foreign currency reserves, the Fund’s executive board will consider one waiver on account of non-observance of performance criteria while Islamabad will also request for modification in one target related to Net International Reserves (NIR).



The IMF staff has to circulate a report on review progress to members of its executive board 15 days prior to the schedule of meeting.



After talking to FBR high-ups for more than one hour last week, the IMF staff incorporated the views of Pakistan’s tax collection on PM’s tax package in a bid to defend the country’s case in an effective manner.



In a teleconference held between the IMF and FBR high-ups last week, the Fund team comprising its fiscal experts sought explanations on tax incentive package especially on the investment policy by not inquiring about source of income.



Tax amnesty of any kind is contrary to the philosophy of IMF and World Bank and they are extending opposition to this scheme announced by PM Nawaz Sharif in recent weeks.



The Fund staff does not seem comfortable with the timing of this scheme as the government unveiled it when the IMF’s executive board was all set to consider approval of the second tranche.



However, the sources in Finance Ministry said that Pakistan would be able to secure approval of second tranche on December 19, 2013.



Independent economists however argue that some members of executive board might use a harsh tone on the new tax package which according to them would ultimately compromise Islamabad’s initiative to broaden its narrow tax base.



The IMF is worried about the outcome of this tax incentive package but there are slim chances that the IMF Board will block the second tranche.



The real difficulty for implementing the IMF reform package will appear in third and fourth quarters of the current fiscal year where the government would have to demonstrate its political will by delivering on key conditionalities on both fiscal as well as energy sides.



The IMF had approved a 3-year arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan on September 4, 2013 in an amount equivalent to SDR 4.393 billion (US$6.64 billion1, or 425 percent of Pakistan’s quota) to support the country’s economic reform programme to promote inclusive growth.



- See more at: IMF asks tough questions about PM’s money whitening scheme - thenews.com.pk